AFTER BRIAN LEFT, SAMANTHA DROPPED herself onto the living room couch and sobbed. The tears didn’t help, but she couldn’t get them under control, either. By the time her sister came home, her eyes were puffy and swollen, her nose was raw, her throat burned, and her mind was numb.
She heard her sister come into the room.
“Samantha?” Kimberly asked softly. “Are you okay?”
Samantha could only shake her head no. She was afraid if she uttered a single word, she would start crying again.
“Jake told me a little bit about what’s going on,” Kimberly said. “I won’t pretend to understand what kind of relationship you and Brian have, but I’m sorry he hurt you.”
“He didn’t hurt me,” Samantha said. “He just doesn’t come from the same perspective as I do. But I’m scared we’ll never be able to see things the same way.” It turned out she had some tears left after all.
“Jake told me he’s trying to get Brian to go on a trip to Chicago. Maybe it would be best if Brian went; maybe some time apart would be good for the two of you.”
“Maybe,” Samantha squeaked. “I just wish things could be easier.”
“I know, sweetie.” Kimberly handed her sister a box of tissues. “You know what? You and I should spend some quality sister time together. We haven’t been doing that enough lately.”
Samantha blew her nose, then asked, “What about Scott?”
“Scott and I are done. We broke up.”
Samantha gazed at her in surprise. “I’m so sorry Kim,” she said. “When did this happen?”
“The other night. But we had been having problems for a while, as you probably guessed.” Kimberly’s expression turned wry. “Thank God he didn’t know you and Brian were having problems, too.”
“Why? What does that have to do with anything?”
Kimberly leaned back in the couch. “Sam, the reason why Scott and I broke up is because he had a crush on you.”
Samantha stared at her sister. “What? That’s impossible. He and I–I never–”
“I know,” Kimberly cut in. “You never said anything or did anything to encourage him. It’s not your fault.”
“I can’t believe this,” Samantha said. “Did he tell you he liked me?”
“Not in so many words. At first, I thought he was just being a nice boyfriend by taking an interest in my sister. Then I realized his feelings went much deeper than just polite sentiment: he kept asking me questions about you, what you’re doing, who you’re with. It was like he was pumping me for information about you. It took me a while to get it, but once I did, I ended things.”
“Kimberly, I am so sorry,” Samantha said again with equal parts anger and compassion. “I can’t believe Scott would feel that way about me. Why….” Her voice trailed off.
Kimberly gave her a thin smile. “Last week, after the break-in, he was furious you had gone to Brian’s house instead of letting him take you home so he could act the hero. I finally realized the only reason he was with me was to stay close to you. If it wasn’t for you, I think he would have broken up with me a long time ago.”
“Oh, God, Kimber. I’m really sorry.” It felt like all Samantha could do was splutter apologies.
“It’s okay, Sam. It’s not your fault. I’m not telling you this to make you feel guilty. Although up until last week I was pretty pissed off,” she admitted. “But you didn’t do anything to lead Scott on. This was all in Scott’s head. And I’m better off without him.”
“Yes,” Samantha agreed. “You are. Jesus. What an asshole.”
“Yeah, I guess I attract assholes.”
“Kim, I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant–”
Kimberly laughed. “It’s okay. It’s just another relationship-gone-bad story. And we all have them, don’t we Sam?”
